


figure it out (not right now)

by censored



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic Harry Osborn, Bisexual Peter Parker, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pride Parades, Queerplatonic Relationships, i was hesitant to put the relationship tag but you will see, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24474280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/censored/pseuds/censored
Summary: a look into peter and harry's relationship
Relationships: Harry Osborn/Peter Parker
Comments: 11
Kudos: 44





	figure it out (not right now)

**Author's Note:**

> my first parksborn fic!

“I’m aromantic!” Harry pulled back, his breathing heavy.

Peter leaned back slower, confused.

Their lips had been almost touching.

They had almost kissed.

“Did you not want to kiss me?” Peter asked, suddenly incredibly worried about misreading the situation.

But Harry had leaned in too.

Harry’s eyes shot up from where they had been looking at Peter’s lips, “No, I do.”

Peter was more confused.

“Then why did you stop?”

Harry broke eye contact, looking down at his fidgeting hands.

Peter had watched those hands fidget since they were kids. Harry’s only nervous tic. 

He had bought him a fidget cube, to the dismay of Harry, who had assured Peter that he had enough money to buy himself a fidget cube. 

His soft smile when he looked at it told Peter that he was thankful.

Peter also knew Harry enough to know that if he continued to poke and prod for an answer, the boy would never talk to him.

So he stayed silent.

Peter looked over Harry, over the boy he had been friends with since they had been kids.

His hair, similar to Peter’s in color, but much more cinnamon than his. 

Peter had stopped many late-night breakdowns, where Harry wanted to bleach his hair. 

Peter always got him to reconsider, telling the other that he liked his hair too much for Harry to turn it orange with cheap grocery store hair bleach.

Harry could go change it up at an expensive salon, easily. But he never did.

“I’m aromantic,” Harry finally whispered, still staring at his hands. Soft enough that Peter was sure he had used his superhearing to hear.

“Harry,” Peter said softly, “help me understand what’s going through your head, please.”

It took another moment, but Harry did talk.

“Romantic attraction,” Harry took a deep breath, “is different for me.”

Peter remained silent.

“I don’t feel it?” Harry continued, hesitantly. “Like, at all.”

Peter could hear his heart pounding. 

He had always been tuned in to Harry’s heartbeat. The moment he could control what he could hear, Peter made sure that he could always hear certain people’s heartbeats.

Harry Osborn’s heartbeat was the first he learned.

Peter hadn’t looked into the different labels of the LGBTQA+ community when he realized he wasn’t straight.

He had heard the term bisexual before.

So, when he got a crush on a girl and a boy within three months, he had slapped the bisexual label onto himself with pride.

Aunt May had smiled, big and wide, when he told her. 

Harry had hugged him, nice and tight, and told him that he was proud of Peter for telling him and that he would always accept him.

Others, Peter knew, had a harder time finding that label. 

The spectrums were vast and sexuality is fluid. 

And Peter didn’t know anything about the aromantic spectrum. Or the asexual spectrum.

Harry hadn’t continued.

“Is that why you didn’t kiss me?” Peter carefully asked.

“Yeah,” Harry muttered.

Still looking at his hands.

Harry liked physical affection. 

Peter gently put his hand over Harry’s, causing the fidgeting to stop.

“But you did want to kiss me?” Peter confirmed.

Harry had been looking at his lips earlier, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to kiss Peter.

“Yeah,” Harry muttered again.

Peter hesitated. This might be going too far.

Harry had been his best friend since they were children. They had been through so much together. They were comfortable with each other.

They could come back from this if Peter screws it up.

“You can,” Peter licked his lips. They felt dry. “You can kiss me, if you want.”

Harry finally looked up.

There were unshed tears in his blue eyes.

Blue eyes that Peter absolutely adored.

They reminded him of the sky. 

Harry’s eyes were evaluating Peter’s face. Searching for disgust. Searching for lies.

He seemed to find what he was looking for.

“You won’t hate me?” 

“I could never hate you, Harry Osborn.”

Harry’s eyes darted around Peter’s face again.

Harry took a deep breath, “I don’t think I want to date you, Peter Parker.”

That...was not what Peter was expecting.

“Okay,” Peter said. “Okay, that’s fine.”

“But, I want to kiss you,” Harry continued.

“But you don’t want to date me?”

Harry nodded.

Peter was so incredibly confused.

He didn’t want a friends with benefits situation, so he told Harry that.

“No! No, I don’t want that either,” Harry said.

Harry didn’t look back down to his hands. He continued to look Peter in the eyes.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Absolutely,” Peter responded automatically.

“Can we figure this out later?” Harry pleaded.

Peter didn’t mind that. He just wanted Harry to kiss him. They could figure out labels later.

“We don’t have to figure it out right now,” Peter told him, staring at his lips. “But I’d really like you to kiss me.”

Harry did.

===

After that, there wasn’t a significant change in their relationship.

They were already roommates, having moved in together for college. 

(Peter still paid his fair share of the rent, but he had a feeling that Harry told him that the rent was less than it actually was.)

They still cuddled on the couch during movie night, Harry laying on top of Peter most nights.

They still jumped into each other’s beds when they had nightmares, but it seemed that they were beginning the night in the same bed more and more. Not every night, but slightly more often than they had before.

Peter liked it.

They didn’t get nightmares as often.

In public, their hands gravitated towards each other. It was easier to not get lost in the crowds.

Kisses were exchanged. Foreheads. Cheeks. Noses. Back of hands. Jaws.

Rarely on the lips, but Peter didn’t mind.

They weren’t boyfriends. They weren’t dating. 

They were just best friends. A little closer, maybe.

They never really talked about it.

===

It was a year later, at their first pride, that they finally figured it out.

They had been walking hand and hand through the crowds, browsing the booths. For the parade, they had met up with their friends, but they had all split off into smaller groups at this point in order to explore everything.

Peter had found a shirt displaying a Spider-Man silhouette colored like the bisexual flag stating ‘I Swing Both Ways’ and had immediately bought it for the irony. He matched it with his worn in converse and some plain shorts. 

Harry was wearing a pair of rainbow board shorts and a white, short-sleeved button down with a pair of vans he loved. 

Harry’s hand was warm in his own, their pulse points pressed together.

The booths were varied, all mixed together without definite sections.

It was a bright colorful mess and Peter loved it.

Harry suddenly tugged on his hand, pulling him from the center of the crowd towards a booth.

Peter recognized the flag now. 

Aromantic.

Harry stopped in front of it, taking in the green decorations and informational packets for a moment before the booth attendant drew him in.

Peter knew that Harry was a bit insecure with the label, and this was the perfect opportunity to learn more about the spectrum. For both of them.

“Aromanticism refers to romantic orientation and some identifying characteristics of the term are disinterest in romantic relationships, an absence of romantic attraction, or aversion to romance,” they said. Harry was nodding along.

“Aromantics may vary in their relationship preferences, but their preferences are those of a non-romantic attraction, such as a platonic attraction, or a desire of wanting to be in a platonic relationship. Some prefer just a platonic relationship, while others do not want a partner at all. It’s all normal.”

With aromanticism explained, the attendant continued on, talking about more specific orientations under the termーgrayromantic, demiromantics, lithromantics, and more.

Harry had mouthed the word grayromantic to himself, but Peter had caught it.

The attendant had said that grayromantic people felt between aromantic and not, with some elements of the term. Infrequent or rarely experiencing romantic attraction. Experiencing attraction that is only ambiguously romantic.

Peter was happy that Harry was finding the information he needed. His heart tightened when Peter remembered the tears Harry had shed, asking if he was broken like his father said he was.

Peter had no respect for Norman Osborn.

When those were explained, they asked if Harry or Peter had any questions.

Harry hesitated, squeezing Peter’s hand.

“Could an aromantic person be in a relationship that doesn’t seem completely platonic?” he asked.

“Of course!” the attendant grinned, grabbing one of the informational sheets from behind them.

“QPP or queerplatonic partners are common,” they explained, and Harry squeezed Peter’s hand a bit more.

“QPP is an umbrella expression to indicate that a relationship defies the divide between a romantic partnership and ‘just’ friends,” they read off the sheet.

“Queerplatonic has been used to describe feelings and relationships of either/both a nonromantic or ambiguously-romantic nature, in order to express that they break social norms for platonic relationships. It can be characterized by a strong bond, affect, and emotional commitment not regarded by those involved as something beyond a friendship.”

Harry was tearing up.

Peter pulled him off the side, away from the crowds, calling back a “thank you!” to the attendant.

“Peter, Peter,” Harry looked at him, a grin on his face. “That’s me! That’s us!”

Peter’s face felt as though it was going to split with how wide his own smile was.

Their arms went around each other at the same time. Peter over. Harry under. 

The way they always hugged.

Peter tightened his arms around his queerplatonic partner, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

He could feel Harry’s grin against his shoulder.

They had finally figured it out.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Pride Everyone!!
> 
> everything the attendant says is taken from https://aromantic.wikia.org/wiki/Aromantics_Wiki and i do not take credit for any of it
> 
> this fic hits close to home for me, but its incredibly important to have all forms of representation in media  
> I've written a fic with aro harry before, but i needed to show the other side of aromantism, not just complete disinterest in any relationship
> 
> everyone has different experiences and feelings, so do not take this as a "this is the only type of qpp relationship i can have" type of thing, because it isnt
> 
> i hope you all have a lovely pride month


End file.
